There’s a certain inevitability that comes along with critiquing one of the “classics”; an act so well known that their very name rings throughout the air, from East to West and North to South of Heaven. What’s inevitable is that at some point during their new work, it starts to sound familiar, lacking any real drive. Whether or not this is countered with throwback performances can be the key factor in making an eleventh record jump or trip. Slayer are certainly not jumping, it can’t be expected with the loss of a man so key to their success.At this point, they may need a minute to check themselves because Repentless is definitely a toe stub of a step forward. The middle tracks of this album, “When The Stillness Comes” and “Chasing Death” are possibly the least attention grabbing eight minutes of 2015. King’s riffs here sound like they’ve been played through a surrogate, not entirely capable of playing as fast as the moment requires. Even one of his unique leads fails to get going, stuttering before failing to take off whatsoever. The stillness never leaves until the albums last track, which is probably only a touch more memorable than it’s preceding cuts due to the gleefully sassy nature of it’s title. The material all stalls because of riffs that go on for fucking ever. Don’t even bother with the intro track. Seriously. King is in a glass house when it comes to the extent of his song writing skills and he barely makes it out of this album alive because of it; only thanks to a couple of magic grooves and time changes into breakneck speeds does he remain with head above water. There is genuinely nothing new here and so be it. If Slayer are going to continue then this is probably the best thing that can happen. Get the first one outta the way and charge forward. To counter all of the bashing, Repentless doesn’t sound totally shit. Every cymbal and bit of kit rolls clearly and clearly and Araya’s bass is audible enough to remind everyone listening what it is he does between verses. The guitars are pretty flat and the tone is set from beginning to end of the record but Kerry King. Again, at this point it stops being that big a deal as it’s already clear where the albums strength comes from and it is not the ingenuity or skill on display here. It’s that it’s a Slayer album. People will find reason to continue to play this, long after being fully aware of how little this album has changed absolutely anybodies reaction to Slayer, regardless of their circumstances. Except for when Araya belts out a call to spark up – “Let’s get high!”. Pretty fucking funny. The most memorable part about the album for quite a few, would be a safe bet. Next time around might be different if King gives Holt something to do. Probably not. It’ll be a Slayer album. Slayer’s Repentless gets… 2.5/5

Providence riff lords Howl have just unveiled the new album artwork for their upcoming Bloodlines album that comes out April 30 in North America. The band recently wrapped up recording with Chris “Zuess” Harris at the infamous Planet Z Studios, which has produced some amazing records from Crowbar, Soulfly, and Municipal Waste, among a ton of … The post HOWL Reveals Sick New Album Art appeared first on Metal Injection .

Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Mark Tremonti is currently winding down the latest North American tour leg for his self-titled band, and Alter Bridge are about to become his primary focus. The guitarist tells Billboard that after meeting briefly earlier this year, the band is ready to resume work on a new disc and has the beginnings of the effort in place. He explained, “[We have] about five songs outlined [for the new album] … All of them are kind of real high-energy, just real fun rock/metal. We want to not be predictable. We want to make it a little surprising and we’re having fun with it.” At present, Alter Bridge are planning to regroup in late April and hope to begin recording their new album in earnest this summer, with a tour tentatively slated for September. As for the Tremonti band and their plans, the guitarist admits that he might line up some shows during breaks in Alter Bridge’s schedule, just as frontman Myles Kennedy is planning to do with Slash . “It’s always good when you’re recording a record to go take a break and come back,” says the guitarist. “That way you can make sure it’s still exciting and fresh to you.” The rocker says he’s also thinking about a second album from Tremonti, but admits that it will take a back seat to his other bands for the immediate future. “We’re going to just keep pushing the limits of what we can do,” says Tremonti. “We’ll try to be as heavy and progressive as we can without losing the vocal melodies and the reasons why most people listen to music. I don’t want to be just self-indulgent, but we want to have a lot of fun with it, too.” And as for his other band, Creed , Tremonti simply states, “It’s Alter Bridge’s year.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/tremonti-wish-you-well-video/” title=”Next: Watch Tremonti’s ‘Wish You Well’ Video” align=”center”]

Photo Credit: James Sharrock British extreme goth band Cradle of Filth were recently forced to cancel their 2013 North American tour dates with the Faceless , Decapitated and the Agonist due to “immigration issues beyond the band’s control.” Needless to say, it was awful news for those looking forward to the powerhouse tour, but nobody took the hit harder than singer Dani Filth , who blogged about the cancellation details and the frustration that accompanied it. We spoke with Dani Filth in October 2012 about all things Cradle of Filth, and the singer was noticeably pumped when speaking of the tour, which at that point wasn’t 100-percent confirmed. Fans began to salivate when the ’28 Days Closer to Hell’ tour dates were announced, but quickly after, plans dissolved simply due to a technicality. In his new blog post , Dani Filth posted the following letter to fans: Dearest readers, The week we were due to receive our US performance visas truly was one of the worst weeks of my life, as it launched itself blazing into nightmare with the rotten news that the US tour was being cancelled. Believe you me, there is still no one more pissed off about this than me, over nothing more than a silly visa issue. Still, what can you do, the more you complain about the immigration laws, the less likely we are to get in next time we intend to tour? Unfortunately there is no way of getting around this problem, whatever anybody says and believe you me we have tried vigorously through various official channels and at some expense, it is just a hard cold fact of entry into the US at the moment. So, better that we postpone/cancel than lead people on any further in the hope that Cradle will be making at least some of these current dates, including Canada, which comes cost-wise part and parcel of touring North America as a whole. It truly is a royal nightmare, as the tour obviously took a lengthy time to route and organize, plus there are the other bands, booking agents, bus companies, local promoters, venues, venue staff and of course, our loyal fans in attendance to consider. Still, if it’s any consolation at all, it does mean that there is a distinct possibility that when the visas are eventually processed, we will be able to come back to the States on a much longer tour, seeing as there was a huge amount of people on our Facebook page complaining about the band not playing anywhere near where they lived. Believe me when I say this, we hear you, and the next tour will take all these requests into ardent consideration. So, if you want Cradle to come to your country, town or city, make your sepulchral voice heard now… Fuck it, speak to the local promoters if you have to! And if this wasn’t enough misery to unhappily digest, it was then followed by a horrid bout of flu. I had Pharyngitis, Toni had Laryngitis and the rest of the week was spent in the company of a high temperature, headache, earache, limb ache, all-else ache and a raging sore throat combination pack. On Valentine’s Day, that most romantic evening of the year, having cancelled our posh dinner and movie date, we were both rolled in as many layers of clothing as was humanly possible to keep warm in bed. And we were still shivering through fever. Now, nigh on two weeks on and the final dregs of the chest infection that came with it are still airing themselves via a hacking great cough and a sinister, sniveling cold. Anyway, I’d like to end this section of my blog by offering a massive apology to everybody that has been let down by this cancellation, especially the all-important Crewdle Of Filth, The Agonist, Decapitated and The Faceless. If there was any way we could change this, we indefatigably would. Without question. Our friends and fans are the most important thing to this band. Period. On a much lighter note, Australian dates have been added to our future touring commitments, the first time in four years that we would’ve been back to grace these fair shores, having already played ourselves silly in South America and Asia (yay!) before winging our way to the Magical land of Oz. An announcement of who will be supporting us will be made very shortly. I must say, I am really, really looking forward to these concerts, just as much as I was really really looking forward to touring the States. Keep checking back for more updates as and when they occur and fingers crossed for the reallocation of the US tour to later on in the year. Plus I will be making a few heady announcements of my own that should tantalize in the upcoming calendar months (and no, i’m not pregnant!). Cryptic I know, but definitely worth the wait. All the very breast, Dani Filth, Housebound, February 2013 E.H Cradle of Filth released their 10th studio album, ‘The Manticore and Other Horrors,’ on Halloween Eve last year. To keep up with Dani Filth’s blog posts, head over to Order of the Dragon . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/cradle-of-filth-singer-recalls-being-stalked-by-reincarnation-of-elizabeth-bathory/” title=”Dani Filth Recalls Being Stalked by ‘Reincarnation of Elizabeth Bathory'” align=”center”]

Spencer Kaufman, Loudwire Green Day just pushed up their return to the road, adding three new dates that will serve as warm-up shows for their recently announced North American stage return at South by Southwest in Austin. Earlier this week, the band revealed that they would play a set March 15 at Austin’s Moody Theater, coinciding with two of their documentaries screening as part of South By Southwest’s film festival. Now comes word that the band wants to get their chops up to snuff by playing a few shows before performing at the music showcase. The new stops will be at Pomona’s (Calif.) Fox Theater on March 10, Tempe’s Marquee on March 11 and El Paso’s Tricky Falls on March 13. Tickets for all three dates will go on sale this Friday (March 1) at 10AM local time. They join the recently announced April 16 and 18 performances at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre and Los Angeles’ Sports Arena that recently extended the tour by a week. The South by Southwest film festival will premiere the band’s ‘Broadway Idiot’ documentary, which is primarily focused on singer Billie Joe Armstrong ‘s role in the Broadway production of the band’s ‘American Idiot’ album. Also screening at the Paramount Theatre the night of March 15 will be ‘¡Cuatro!,’ a documentary on the making of Green Day’s recently released album trilogy. The new shows are now part of the band’s North American trek, which will keep them on the road through April 18 in Los Angeles. After that, the group will trek over to Milan, Italy for the start of their European tour on May 24, with shows overseas booked through July 13 in Bilbao, Spain. To see the previously announced dates, click here . Newly Announced Green Day 2013 Tour Dates: 3/10 — Pomona, Calif. — Fox Theater 3/11 — Tempe, Ariz. — The Marquee 3/13 — El Paso, Texas — Tricky Falls 4/16 — Berkeley, Calif. — Greek Theatre 4/18 — Los Angeles, Calif. — Los Angeles Sports Arena [button href=”http://loudwire.com/rock-fest-2013-must-see-rock-concerts/” title=”Next: Check Out 2013’s Must-See Rock Concerts” align=”center”]

Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com The man of many bands, guitarist Mark Tremonti , will be the special guest on this weekend’s Loudwire Radio show with host Mike ‘Sandman’ Sanders. The rocker took the time to discuss his solo band, Creed and Alter Bridge . Tremonti, the band, are currently winding down their North American dates, with the final show scheduled for March 5 in West Hollywood. Meanwhile, Alter Bridge recently announced that they’d be releasing a new album and touring in 2013. Find out the latest on all of Tremonti’s project, including some big news about bassist Wolfgang Van Halen, in the Q&A with Sandman below: Can you share the backstory on the new Tremonti single ‘Wish You Well’ with us? Well, that song is probably the oldest song that I’ve ever put on a record. I started writing it back in 7th or 8th grade and had demos made of it, then I made another demo for the first Alter Bridge record but it never made the record. So, I’ve been waiting for this song a long time to finally get it out there. Obviously people know you from being the guitarist in Creed and Alter Bridge, but your solo album has done really well. How long was the album in the planning in your thoughts, as far as going out and putting your own record out? For years, I knew I had a lot of song ideas that would never see the light of day unless I did something about it. And then when I saw my schedule open up when Myles left on the Slash tour for about three months, I just kind of decided that was when I was going to get busy and record those ideas. We should mention that the album is titled ‘All I Was’ and, although he’s not on the album, he is on tour with you: Wolfgang Van Halen . Are you going to return him to his father someday or are you going to adopt him and keep him? He’s going to be an official member of the band. He’ll be on our next album and doing all the tours, it’s just … we’re going to have to … just like we work around the Alter Bridge schedule, this year we’ll have to work around the Van Halen schedule, as well. Fantastic. Now, I know you’re on tour for a little bit longer. What is the time table, as far as, heading back into the studio to work on your next Tremonti album? I’m not sure right now. I’m really focused on getting this Alter Bridge record written and finalized and getting to the studio and then once things die down a little bit from that I’ll see if I’ve got any breaks — again, probably when Myles is out with Slash — to get going on writing another Tremonti record. I know there was a report at Loudwire.com that had you and Myles in the studio together for at least a brief time in between his U.S. tour with Slash and then him going overseas. So, you guys have gotten a little bit of work done I’m assuming? Yeah, we’ve got about five songs that I think are album worthy and ready to go to pre-production at this point. And I guess my next question would be about your other band — the first band that brought you to prominence is Creed. Is there a future for that band? Do you see putting out another record with those guys? Well, we just toured extensively last year with Creed and did about all the touring we could do in the States and we went to South America and Indonesia and I think I’m going to take a rest from Creed and get back with some Alter Bridge music and see what happens from there. Also, I noted that you recently visited some U.S. troops over in Germany, and I’m sure that meant a lot to them. What does that mean to you, to be able to go out and support our Armed Forces? Any time you can make [members of the military] happy by just showing up and shaking some hands and talking to folks, it’s a great thing. It’s just part of one of the bonuses of what we do. People like meeting their favorite musicians and when you can go and visit somebody that’s away from their family and risking their lives for you … to make them happy, I’m all about it. Editor’s note: Tremonti just revealed to Entertaim.net that Alter Bridge are currently planning to start production on their forthcoming disc in April, with tentative plans to tour this fall. To read Tremonti’s comments on the timeline, click here . To catch Mark Tremonti on the airwaves this weekend, click below to see which stations air Loudwire Radio. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/loudwire-radio-station-list/” title=”See Which Stations Carry Loudwire Radio” align=”center”]